Do More, We Have Time Galore

"It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Every so often I look at the calendar and it suddenly hits me how much time has passed. Two months of 2012 are almost gone, and for all that time, it feels like I have little to show. Sometimes, it feels like the problem is my limitations. I just can't achieve certain things. Those are for the great people, the chosen ones. I can only do a few limited things and I'm best of sticking to that.

Media overload costs us precious
hours each day...

But when I read this quote, it hit me that the problem isn't my abilities or my limitations. It's in my lack of action. I know it often feels like I'm so busy and I just can't find enough time, but when I sincerely ask myself, "Am I ALWAYS doing?", the answer becomes quite evident.

I once visited a hostel in India where nearly 100 college students stayed. There was one requirement for each of them -- an objective diary. What is that? It is a diary in which you report your time spent during the day, much like filling in timesheets at work. Rather than writing your thoughts, emotions, etc., you simply go through the hours of the day and write down what you did at each half-hour. When I tried this myself, it was scary to realize just how much time I actually had in which I was doing nothing.

Those 20-minute gaps between classes, those 25-minutes of aimless Internet surfing, those 30-minute "breaks" to prepare ourselves for more work. The time adds up is what I found. The problem is not that we are inept at achieving what we desire, but rather that the opportunities for action are squandered away by us. Time is not the problem; my use of it is the problem.

Too many options have simply ruined our lives.
Simplifying our lives might be the best solution!

Being conscious of the passage of time is really the first step to achieving more. If I make an effort to diminish the amount of time I lose everyday, and if I constantly push myself to be focused and stay productive, the results will certainly be more triumphs, more satisfaction, and more life.

Here are just a few small studies highlighting this fact. It really is a serious problem:
Kids use media for 8 hours a day!
Wasted time at works costs the economy.
This is really a funny article about the 10 Most Annoying Time-wasters but number 1 is worth thinking about: isn't this a problem we have created? Are more options really the sign of success, or were we better off with simple living?